Didn't It Rain
by Silverlight
Summary: In which Kohaku decides he has to have a "talk" with Miroku about Sango...^_^


Notes: in which Kohaku decides that he has to have a "talk" with Miroku about Sango.  Spoilers for chapter 292 of the manga.  Profligate cuteness on Kohaku's part.

Didn't It Rain 

            "Inuyasha…SIT!" Kagome commanded.  Miroku blinked, his concentration broken.  "Sango-chan, could I borrow Kirara?" asked Kagome.

            Kirara mewed her acceptance readily enough, and Sango nodded absentmindedly.  "Of course Kagome-chan."

            Within moments, Kagome had disappeared with her strange yellow pack and Kirara.

            "That damned woman," Inuyasha cursed, stomping away, presumably to sulk.

            "Idiot," Shippou muttered.

            "I concur," Sango murmured.

            "Are they always like that?" Kohaku queried tentatively.

            Shippou snorted.  "You wouldn't believe," the kitsune answered dryly.

            "Ah," Kohaku replied uncertainly, squirming when his sister ruffled his hair playfully.

            "Ne Sango, Kohaku, let's play a game," Shippou said excitedly.  "Kagome taught me a new one, and I haven't had a chance to try it out.  It's called 'hide and seek.'"

            Their voices faded as they moved away from him, and presumably, into the woods.  Miroku suppressed a smile.

            It was, he thought hazily, a lazy day.

            They could afford to be lazy for the moment, he thought as he stretched, easing his cramped muscles as best as he could.  He slid a sidelong glance towards the direction of brother and sister, and his lips curved in a faint smile.  They deserved the respite.

            _She _needed it.  She was worth any delay, even if it meant sacrificing a few days of his dwindling lifespan.  After all, such happiness deserved to be indulged in.

            Her face was alight with content as she counted aloud, and there was no denying the pure joy that her voice contained.  He felt something inside of him contract and shifted his eyes away almost guiltily.

            _To me, you are a special girl…_ __

            Life, he decided, could not get any better than this.  The metal rings of his shakujou moved against one another, its metal glinting in the sunlight.  Wincing as his shoulder popped, the monk resettled into the lotus position, preparing himself for another bout of meditation.  The wooden beads dug almost painfully into his right hand, a physical reminder.

            The sunlight glittered as it touched the lake.  If he looked closely enough, he could see a distorted reflection of the sky and clouds reflected through the waters.

            Shaking himself slightly, he shifted into a light trance.

            Long moments passed.  There was something indisputably peaceful about a day like this; it was as if the wheel of time stood still for them.

            "Houshi-sama?" someone queried tentatively behind him, breaking his concentration.  Miroku started, but relaxed once he recognized the voice.

            "Kohaku, what a surprise.  Weren't you playing a game with Shippou and Sango?"  

            "We were, but Aneue found a hot spring," Kohaku replied, rolling his eyes expressively.  Miroku's eyes widened slightly, and his mind grew delirious with a number of impure thoughts.  He imagined Sango, alone, steam rising from the hot, sulphurous water as sh—

            "I must go find her!" Miroku announced suddenly, grabbing his shakujou as he got up.  "She could be attacked by demons at any time, and she'd be defenceless."  Brushing grass stains from his robe, he turned to the younger boy.  "Now, where did you say the hot spring was?"

            Kohaku grinned nervously at the monk.  "Aneue told me not to tell you."  Miroku deflated abruptly, plopping onto the grass without his characteristic grace.

            "It'd figure," he muttered.  He then brightened.  "But I don't suppose you'd tell me anyways?  Just in case, you know, if someth—"

            "But I promised Aneue I wouldn't tell," Kohaku said, handing him one of Kagome's bottles of water.  "Besides, Shippou-san is with her."  Slightly amused and annoyed at Sango's foresight, the monk gestured to the grass beside him before taking the proffered object.  Kohaku sat, the movement somewhat nervous.

            "Houshi-sama, can I ask you something?" Kohaku said.  Miroku smiled encouragingly at the younger boy.  According to Sango, Kohaku hadn't regained all of his memories, and as far as she was concerned, it was for the best.  He was too gentle, she'd said, to bear such a burden, even if none of it should have been his.__

            "You can ask me anything, Kohaku," he answered calmly, unscrewing the top of his water.  Kohaku gulped.  His hands brushed against the tops of the grass.

            "What do you think of Aneue?" he asked curiously.  Miroku blinked.

            _I never thought I'd treasure and trust a girl so much…_

            "She's a comrade," he replied simply.  "Someone to fight alongside with.  I admire her for her intellect as well as fighting skills, and I'm glad to have her as a companion."

            "Ah," Kohaku replied.  "I see."  He seemed to be struggling with something, and Miroku patiently waited, his nerves taut.  Then,  "Do…do you like Aneue?" he asked cautiously.

            "Well enough," he replied, aware that he was treading dangerous ground.  "Why do you ask?"  

            "Do you love her?" Kohaku asked in a rush, ignoring the monk's question.

            Miroku, having just taken a drink, choked dangerously.  It took several moments of panic and back patting on Kohaku's part before Miroku finally managed to regain control of his voice.

            "I'm sorry!  I didn't mean to do that!" Kohaku wailed contritely.  Miroku shook his head, silencing the youth effectively.

            "It's fine, Kohaku," Miroku said.  "I'm still here."  They sat in silence companionably.

            "Well…do you?" Kohaku asked tentatively.  Miroku shifted his eyes away from those of the youth guiltily.

            _However, that is precisely why I can't love you as a girl…_

            "Houshi-sama?"

            Miroku cleared his throat.  "I wonder where Inuyasha is," he said hastily.  "He's been gone for a long time.  Don't you think we should look for him?"

            "…I suppose," Kohaku said hesitantly.  Then, "Don't you think Inuyasha-san can take care of himself?"

            "I suppose, but you never know.  After all, he did hit his head hard when Kagome-sama made him sit!" Miroku said heartily, making as if to get up.  Kohaku narrowed his eyes at him.

            "Houshi-sama, you're not trying to evade my question, are you?" the boy queried.

            "Does this look like the face of someone trying to evade a question?" the monk asked, beaming guilelessly at the youth.

            "It does," Kohaku answered immediately.  Miroku cursed inwardly; the boy was just as sharp as his sister.  "So do you?"

            "Do I what?"  He was getting desperate if he was feigning memory loss, he knew.

            "Do you love her?" Kohaku asked.

            Desperate, Miroku tried a last evasion tactic.  "Isn't the lake so peaceful?" the monk queried.  "I haven't seen a day like this in years.  It reminds me of the myth where a group of fairies descended from heaven to take a bat—

            "Houshi-sama, what does this have to do with my question?" Kohaku interrupted uncharacteristically.

            "Question?  What question?" Miroku asked as innocently as he could manage.  Kohaku stared at him intently, and Miroku began to sweat.

            "Do you love my sister?" Kohaku asked seriously, sans stutter or hesitation.  "I know Aneue has feelings for you, but if you don't feel the same for her, I'd rather I didn't see her hurt."  Miroku was a little startled by the fervour in the boy's voice.  "I only want to watch out for her the way she's always watched out for me," the boy said softly.  Miroku let out an explosive breath.

            _It's not like I thought that you did love me…_

            "I think Sango can look after herself, Kohaku," Miroku reminded the boy gently.  Kohaku glared at the monk fiercely.  Miroku gulped.

            "I didn't say she couldn't," Kohaku said through gritted teeth.  Miroku held up his hands in surrender.  Kohaku continued glowering.  Miroku was rather taken aback by the similarities between brother and sister.  If anything, they both had the ability to cower the monk with a single glance.

            "Let me tell you a story, Kohaku," Miroku finally said, after a moment's thought.  He rearranged himself neatly into the lotus position.  His gaze wandered idly until it settled upon the lake.  "I promise I'm not evading your question.

            "Once upon a time, there was a monk.  He was cursed to forever make the ones he loved unhappy, unless he could defeat the one that had done this to him (which was inevitable because the monk was so intelligent and determined, but I digress).  Because this was such a horrible affliction, the monk decided to love as little as he could.  He thought that the best way to do this was to have as little contact with people as possible, so he became a vagabond, travelling from village to village, thinking that it was impossible to create any sort of lasting bond.

            "But one day, he met a boy, a girl and a child travelling together, and while the boy and girl couldn't see it, the monk could see that they were very much in love with one another.  After a series of misunderstandings (for you see, the boy tried to kill the monk, but it was impossible since the monk was too handsome, charming and talented to die), they became fast friends and from then on, the monk knew the joy of friendship.

            "They had been travelling for quite some time when they came upon a village.  The village reeked of death and destruction since its inhabitants had been murdered mindlessly.  While they were cleaning the village, they found an orphan girl (who was really quite pretty and had a nice as—okay, as I'll get back to what I was saying, and please stop looking at me with that scary expression and chain scythe).  The orphan girl had been led into thinking that they had been the cause of her village's destruction, and attacked them.  It took all of their strengths, but they finally managed to convince her of their innocence.  It was like this that they managed to gain a new companion.

            "The monk thoughts that the girl was beautiful and intelligent, but he took great care not to get too close to her.  He could not love because it would hurt her, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.  However, despite his efforts, he knew that he was failing.  He tried his best to push her away, to make her think that he wasn't worth the pain that he caused.

            "Of course, he took things too far one day.  It was out of his idiocy that the orphan girl was put in danger.  She ended up being controlled by a group of vengeful women, who fed her lies continuously until her thoughts were no longer her own.  She fought them, but the words fed upon her resentment, and the orphan girl finally tried to kill the monk one day."  He paused his narrative to glance at the glittering lake.  Absentmindedly, he took a drink of water.

            _If, when the battle with Naraku is over…_

            "Then what?" Kohaku prompted.  Miroku slid a sideways glance at the youth, and was surprised to see an entranced expression on his face.

_            …the curse of my Kazaana is broken and I'm alive…_

            "They fought, the orphan girl savagely and the monk desperately.  He did not want to hurt her because she was special to him.  He managed to save her, in spite of the lies that the women had told her, and he was overjoyed, but he realized that he had put her in more danger by pushing her away.

            "He told her that if it weren't for his curse, he'd love her until the end of his days.  However, because he _was _cursed, he couldn't love her.  So he said to her, 'If my curse is broken, and if we're still alive, would you marry me?'"

            "What did she say?" Kohaku asked curiously.  

            Miroku was silent for a moment, his fingers reaching automatically for the wooden beads.  Then, "She agreed, and the monk felt his heart break and mend itself when she did."

            He allowed his voice to die.  Tilting his head upwards, the breeze ruffled his face and hair gently, cooling and cleansing his thoughts.

            …_ at that time…_

            "Did they ever break the curse?" queried the boy.

_            …would you……live with me and bear my child?_

            Miroku smiled.  "I don't know."

            Kohaku blinked before asking incredulously, "What do you mean 'you don't know?'  You're the storyteller!  Make up an ending!"

            "The story isn't finished yet," Miroku said simply.  Kohaku seemed to think about this for a few more moments, and Miroku was content to let him.

            _I…_

            "You know what I think will happen?" the boy finally said.  Miroku raised a brow at him.  "I think that they'll manage to kill the person that cursed the monk with lots and lots of help from their friends, including the orphan's younger brother.  They say love can do anything, and I think the monk really loved the orphan girl.  I also think that they should spend the rest of their lives together after that and have lots of children so I can be an uncle."  Kohaku grinned impishly at the monk, whose jaw was just about sagging to the ground and was two breaths away from having an apoplectic fit.__

            "But just a word of warning," Kohaku said, suddenly becoming serious, "if you hurt Aneue, I'll kill you."

            "…" 

            "No, really, I will."

            "…All right…"

            "And I'll make it really slow and really painful, and uh, you'll be really dead."

            "…All right…"

            "So don't hurt Aneue.  Or else," Kohaku finished, rather lamely.

            Miroku couldn't help it.  He burst into peals of laughter.

            "I'm serious!" whined Kohaku.  "I'll really hurt you if you do anything to Aneue."

            'I know, I know," Miroku chuckled, wiping his eyes.  "I'm sorry Kohaku.  I didn't mean it like that, but…oh my, that was funny."  Kohaku glared at him, and Miroku held up his hands in surrender.  "Okay, okay, I apologize."

            "Good.  Because then I'd be forced to hurt you, and Aneue wouldn't be happy with me," Kohaku said gravely.  Miroku smiled wryly.

            "We wouldn't want that, would we?  Though knowing Sango, she'd think it was all my fault anyways and hit me."  Kohaku's eyes widened.

            "Aneue?  She wouldn't!"

            "Oh trust me," Miroku said fervently.  "She would."  Kohaku coughed, choked and snickered at the same time.

            "Just promise," Kohaku said when he was able to breathe, "that you'll take care of her, and you'll never hurt her, no matter what."

            _I will…_

            "I won't," Miroku replied soberly, meaning every word.  "I promise."

            "A promise between men?" Kohaku asked hopefully.  Miroku smiled.

            "Of course," he answered.

**Notes:**

Spawned from a conversation with K-chan (who I based Kohaku loosely on) when we were talking about Miroku, Sango and what if Kohaku was really alive in the end.  Many thanks to her for the lines, and to Ilana, Kim, Serena and Jessica for helping me figure out the title.  The title, in the end, came from the Arjuna OST, and is a lovely, wistful instrumental that suits the fic very well.  3 Yoko Kanno.

Anything in italics is from the proposal chapter taken from Sengoku o-Togi Zoushi.  Ph33r d4 cr4zy sh1pp3r5 y0.

 I'm on a serious Miroku/Sango kick.  Ph33r m3.  Gimme good art/fic/everything in Miroku/Sango, and I will love you forever.  XD  And go read my fic "Broken Road" because I'm inordinately proud of that fic, for some strange reason.

Silverlight: Imagine Kohaku having a "talk" with Miroku about Sango.  
CCS AnGeL 00: Can't you see it?  "I'm going to hurt you!  No, really!"  
Silverlight: Mew?  *snerks*  
CCS AnGeL 00: *dies*  "So, uh, touch my sister and I'll kill you."  "…o…kay…"  
Silverlight: *rolls*  I love you, K-chan.  
CCS AnGeL 00: I love you too!  ^^


End file.
